First, lets look at the overview of history of mobile data, and where we were and are right now.

  • 1G: First analog GSM systems, existed for a few years. And then came the GSM digital systems.
  • 2G: the second generation of mobile telecommunications still is the most widespread technology in the world; you’ve basically all heard of the GSM norm. It delivers data at the slow rate of 9.6 kB/sec.
  • 2.5G: For data speed limitations of GSM, the operators came with GPRS, which could enable much faster communications (115Kbytes.sec - 4 - 7 kB/s).
  • 2.75G: EDGE, being pretty good at downloading, although pretty slow at uploading, can reach speeds of 10 - 20 kB/sec. EDGE is quite widely used in most locations in the world.
  • 3G: also called UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Standard), most commonly known for first video calls (failed), but also for great data speeds, anything from 20 - 40 kB / sec.
  • 3.5G: HSDPA and HSUPA is theoretically 6 times faster than UMTS (downloads up to 3.6 Mbytes/sec, uploads up to 1.6 MBytes/sec)! Practically speaking (when using it), you can reach download speeds of 70 - 110 kB / sec. Very impressive speed and ping.

  • 4G: still a research lab standard, at least to my knowledge, that should combine the best of cellphone network technologies with WiMax, wireless Internet, voice over IP and IPv6 (a post about the latter soon). Data rates are expected to reach 100 Mbytes/sec.

Most networks in Europe and the rest of the world have already implemented 2.75G or 3G today, and many of them are already implementing or have implemented 3.5G. We are very proud of the mobile space to be achieving these spedes

Very recently, T-Mobile in the UK has updated the technologies of its data transfer to HSUPA (

This means T-Mobile UK is on the list (wiki page, although unupdated list) of the first European networks to move its uplink to the speedy HSUPA mobile broadband service.

HSUPA complements the fast download technology HSDPA (3.5G), which is supported by all operators in UK. HSUPA networks can deliver an upload up to 1.4 Mbps. T-Mobile UK has also announced that its going to upgraded HSDPA to hit 7.2 Mbps speeds.

So where is this train heading? I trust the issue is not speed up the downloads and uploads at this moment, but to make the 3.5G networks more widespread in terms of coverage and network operator availability, and also to raise the quality of service in handover when in motion (cars, trains, buses). I am still getting many places without 3G networks around Europe, so lets hope that will change soon. Also what slows a lot of people from using faster data networks in Europe is if you go to a close country, you have no possibilities of unlimited downloads. I would very much appreciate mobile operators to finally make a deal here and create unlimited data packages, at least in their own networks across Europe (you have an unlimited data tarrif in Vodafone Czech Republic, why would you have to pay several euros per megabyte abroad?). I hope this changes and moves forward in the following years.

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